Can't Beat the Heat! (Japanese: ライバルたいけつ！カメックスＶＳリザードン！！Rival Confrontation! Kamex VS Lizardon!!) is the 270th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on October 17, 2002 and in the United States on September 27, 2003.

Contents

Blurb

Our hero is in the middle of the first match of the championship tournament at the Johto League Silver Conference. His opponent is his long time rival—Gary Oak. Each trainer is down one Pokémon, with five to go. Gary's Blastoise is very strong and knocks out Ash's Heracross. Ash isn't surprised—that Blastoise was the Squirtle that Gary got when he first started out as a trainer! Gary recalls Blastoise and the battle continues. Finally, each trainer is down to their last Pokémon. Gary has saved Blastoise till the end—and Ash calls out Charizard! Blastoise has the advantage because it's a Water Type, but Ash is very clever. He uses Charizard's Flame Thrower attack to scorch the battle field, trapping Blastoise. Blastoise uses Hydro Pump to cool off the field, but it backfires. The field becomes all steamy and no one can see. Charizard finishes off the battle with a Seismic Toss. Ash is thrilled to have finally defeated his rival—but does he have what it takes to continue? His next opponent will be Harrison from Hoenn.

Plot

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Ash and Gary continue their six-on-six match on a rock field. Gary's starter Blastoise launches a Hydro Pump to counter Heracross' Fury Swipes. However, despite a last-minute evasion tactic behind a rock, Hydro Pump manages to blast through the rock and Heracross hiding behind it, knocking the Pokémon out. Ash then sends out Muk to battle. Blastoise uses Skull Bash, but Muk isn't fazed by the attack. Muk uses a Sludge Bomb, but Blastoise uses Rapid Spin to deflect the shot. Continuing to spin, it tries to hit Muk, but Muk easily catches and smothers its opponent. Blastoise escapes the pin with a Hydro Pump, and Ash pulls Muk for Bayleef, hoping that a Grass type will provide a good advantage over Blastoise. Bayleef evades the first Hydro Pump with Vine Whip jump, but her airborne Razor Leaf is deflected by Rapid Spin. Making matters worse, Bayleef's attempt to use Body Slam is met with a Bite attack from Blastoise. She gets tossed by her leaf, and is knocked out.

Since Ash has now lost three Pokémon, the referee calls for a 5-minute intermission. During the break, Pikachu wants in on the match against Blastoise, and is visibly upset when Ash explains that he can only use his six entrants that were arranged before the match. In the stands, Delia and Professor Oak reminisce about the match bringing back memories from the boys' childhood growing up together.

When the break ends, Ash sends out Snorlax, while Gary resumes with Arcanine; Brock believing that he will save Blastoise for last. Arcanine uses Take Down to charge straight at Snorlax, who responds with Body Slam. Arcanine evades the attack, and traps Snorlax with Fire Spin, but Snorlax then blasts a Hyper Beam at Arcanine. It is a direct hit, and although Arcanine tries to get up, the attack proves to be too much. Therefore, Arcanine is knocked out.

Nidoqueen is sent back out. Ash warns Snorlax to be careful since Nidoqueen also knows Hyper Beam. Using its tail to jump (a tactic copied from Bayleef), Nidoqueen manages to land down on Snorlax and damage it with Double Kick. Nidoqueen then blasts a Hyper Beam, but Snorlax ducks the attack and counters back with an Ice Punch, taking Nidoqueen out of the match. Gary's Scizor is sent out against Snorlax, and after a series of Quick Attacks, Scizor defeats Snorlax with a Metal Claw to the face of a missed Hyper Beam. With Scizor playing a speed game, Brock notes that Ash had put his entries with power battling in mind, and his two remaining Pokémon will have trouble against Scizor. Sending Muk back out, Muk easily absorbs a Quick Attack, allowing to attack with Sludge Bomb which Scizor evades. Scizor uses Metal Claw again, which, though Muk absorbs it, it allows Scizor to lift and throw Muk into the air. One Swift later, and Muk is knocked out.

Now down to one Pokémon against three (Scizor, Blastoise, and an unrevealed Pokémon), Ash sends out Charizard. Gary notes he figured that Ash would use his Charizard last. Scizor lunges toward Charizard with Steel Wing. Charizard attacks with Flamethrower, but Scizor jumps to avoid the attack, however Ash refuses to let it get away this time. Charizard then meets Scizor airborne much to Scizor and Gary's shock before Scizor is knocked out by a super-effective Flamethrower to the face. Gary, undaunted, sends out Golem. Brock and Misty note that Charizard will have a hard time against Golem (due to the double weakness to Rock types). Golem leads off with Magnitude, which manages to stun Charizard. Charizard attempts to Seismic Toss Golem, but it is too heavy (Professor Oak pointing out that Golem is second only to Snorlax in terms of mass). Golem lands back on its feet and attacks with Rollout, but Ash orders Charizard to use Dragon Rage which hits Golem and knocks it out of the match.

Now Ash has pulled even with Gary - the match is down to Blastoise and Charizard.

Charizard's opening Flamethrower is deflected by Rapid Spin, but isn't as lucky itself as it takes a Hydro Pump to the face. Taking to the skies, its airborne attack is repelled by a Skull Bash. As Macy, Jackson, and Harrison look on from the stands for Ash's next move, Ash decides to have Charizard make another aerial approach, evading Hydro Pumps along the way. However, Charizard cannot seem to find a desperately needed opening. Brock notes that Fire attacks aren't very effective against Water-types, but sometimes they work and that Charizard will need a close-range attack to have a good shot of knocking out Blastoise against the type advantage.

Ash desperately looks for someway to take advantage, and he suddenly notices that - although Charizard's attacks have missed Blastoise - the fire that has hit the rocks have been left red hot and somewhat melted. Ash commands Charizard to burn the field instead of attacking Blastoise. Although he knows that Ash's specialty is thinking outside-the-box, Gary is still nevertheless puzzled by Ash's tactic. Blastoise is immobilized by the red-hot field, something that not even a type advantage could cover. Resorting to cool the field using Hydro Pump, Blastoise only succeeds in covering the field in steam. When the steam clears, Blastoise and Charizard have locked up in close-range combat - too close for Blastoise to aim its Hydro Pumps. Though Blastoise manages to duck out of a Dragon Rage, it allows Charizard to attempt a Seismic Toss. Blastoise tries to escape by biting Charizard's arm, but to no avail. The attack continues and once Charizard and Blastoise land on the ground, everyone begins to wonder who won. When the smoke clears, Blastoise is able to get up, as both Pokémon have a staring match. Blastoise soon however succumbs to the damage it took and faints. Ash, realizing that he just beat Gary, stands in awe, then jumps for joy and thanks Charizard for a spectacular battle.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket has ended yet another day with a big profit. However, Jessie is preventing Delibird from making off with its hard-earned gains. However, Meowth also notes that with the profits they have nearly wiped out all their outstanding Team Rocket debts. Jessie is first to plan on franchising their souvenir stand, which James and Meowth support.

Later that night, Ash meets Gary privately by the lake. Gary gives Ash his half of the Poké Ball. Reflecting on the battle, Gary isn't ashamed that he had lost the battle - when he admittedly tied in the fishing contest, he had felt like a failure (hence taking it as a "loss"). But Ash won fair and square today. The two shake hands, and Gary promises to cheer for Ash is his next match.

The next morning, Ash begins his second Full Battle on a grass field against his new friend Harrison, with Ash having the first move. Leading off with Pikachu, Harrison responds with Kecleon - a Pokémon he hasn't seen in a while. How will Ash fare against his new opponent?

When Charizard and Blastoise fight in hand-to-hand combat, Gary says Charizard is too close for Blastoise to aim "with its hydro cannons", referring to the cannons on its back with which it shoots its Hydro Pump attack. Coincidentally, Generation III would later introduce the attack Hydro Cannon.

When Golem used Magnitude, it should not have affected Charizard as Charizard is a Flying-type Pokémon and Magnitude is a Ground-type move. However, this may have been due to the fact that Charizard was standing on the ground at the time.

When Gary's Blastoise uses Rapid Spin to counter Sludge Bomb by Ash's Muk, the commentator says "Blastoise uses Rapid Spin to send Sludge Bomb back where it came from", although Blastoise sends it to some other direction rather than at Muk.